


I'm With You (Even If It Makes Me Blue)

by Aerica_Menai



Series: Paper Rings 'verse [1]
Category: Magic Kaito, 名探偵コナン | Detective Conan | Case Closed
Genre: (accidentally), Aromantic, Asexuality, Asexuality Spectrum, Coming Out, Enemies to Friends to Partners, Fluff, Light Angst, M/M, Misunderstandings, Mutual Pining, Platonic Bed-sharing, ace!Hattori, aromantic pan!Kaito, demiromantic ace!Shinichi, oh my god they were roommates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-09
Updated: 2019-11-09
Packaged: 2021-01-26 06:44:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,325
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21369871
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aerica_Menai/pseuds/Aerica_Menai
Summary: Post-Conan and post-KID retirement. Shinichi and Kaito find themselves rooming together in college, becoming friends and then...maybe something more. AKA 10K words of trying to get these two to TALK TO EACH OTHER PROPERLY DAMMIT.
Relationships: Hattori Heiji & Kudou Shinichi | Edogawa Conan, Kudou Shinichi | Edogawa Conan & Mouri Ran, Kudou Shinichi | Edogawa Conan/Kuroba Kaito | Kaitou Kid, Kuroba Kaito | Kaitou Kid & Nakamori Aoko
Series: Paper Rings 'verse [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1772665
Comments: 12
Kudos: 148





	I'm With You (Even If It Makes Me Blue)

**Author's Note:**

> @grayraincurtain was my out-of-this-world beta, cheerleader and fellow screamer at these stubborn characters who REFUSED to cooperate – but she kept reading what I sent her anyway. Because she’s just the bestest <3
> 
> Title from Taylor Swift’s Paper Rings

Shinichi had found quite a few horrible-roommate situations flashing through his mind before moving into the dorms, but this was one so ridiculous even his paranoid brain hadn’t come up with it. “K-KID??” Shinichi spluttered as he stared at his new roommate. 

KID lit up at the sight of him. “Meitantei-kun!” he crowed, running over to heartily slap him on the back. “What a small world!” Shinichi just gaped. What the hell kind of coincidence was this?? Shinichi was not going to survive this with his sanity intact.

***

Two months later, Shinichi had to admit that he was starting to tolerate all of Kaito’s odd quirks. His caterwauling in the shower at the crack of dawn (damn him for being a morning person, anyway) was only permissible when Kaito preceded his shower with making coffee for zombie-Shinichi. Otherwise, there would be repeated toilet flushing until Kaito had stopped making that horrible noise. (Zombie-Shinichi was a petty bitch.) Shinichi was not allowed to bring any “f-f-finny things!” into their room, so sushi became a rare treat. Shinichi refused to let Kaito fill his half of their mini-fridge with nothing but chocolate, despite Kaito’s attempts. Slowly, “KID” became “damn thief” became “Kuroba” became “Kaito.” And Shinichi wasn’t sure when that had happened.

***

The very first day, Kudo had laid down what he considered his most important rule: as he was still helping police on cases and therefore had access to sensitive information, Kaito was not to look at any of it, on the threat of severe punishment, and bringing an unannounced visitor would lead to an even harsher sentence, for similar reasons. If Kaito wanted to bring company of any kind, Kudo merely required an at least 15 minute heads-up for clean-up; amorous visitors specifically required not only the heads-up but also a coast-is-clear notification, so there weren’t any…uncomfortable situations. 

So of course, on day 8, Kudo came back from his morning classes to find Kaito poring through the files of his latest case. (What kind of thief didn’t break the rules, after all?) Calmly, Kudo took the files back, cleaned up the mess Kaito had made and promptly left. Kaito figured Kudo had been bluffing – until Kudo came back with a sashimi dinner he at facing Kaito the entire time. After Kaito unfroze, Kudo promised that the next time, it would be a whole finny thing; and if Kaito decided to bring in an unannounced guest, he would wake up *literally* sleeping with finny things in his bed. Kaito took Kudo’s warnings seriously and never repeated his mistake – he had no idea that Kudo could be so ruthless. (Deep down…he had to admit it was kinda hot.) 

And Kudo must have felt bad about it, since it wasn’t long afterwards that the (amazing) chocolate cake started showing up on his bed during Shinichi’s later nights. Kaito knew a peace offering when he saw one, and he was happy to accept bribes and devour them. 

***

The only thing Kaito really hated about living with Shinichi was realizing how…lonely his roommate was. Certainly, the detective had sporadic visits and phone calls from the Detective of the West (or whatever his title was) and spent plenty of time at the police station. However, all of those often were directly or indirectly related to cases (or quickly became related to cases) – they really weren’t downtime. 

When Kaito slowed down his (admittedly, steady) stream of one-night stands after surviving mid-terms, for a change of pace (…or so he told himself), he noticed that when Shinichi wasn’t working he was studying. All work and no play (none that Kaito could see, anyway) made Shinichi a very lonely boy. So Kaito decided to change that.

***

Shinichi didn’t know what was happening, but all of a sudden, Kaito was everywhere. At his favorite quiet corner of the library, at his favorite campus cafe, picking him up from work and – somehow the most bizarrely – in their room. Instead of being off with yet another bed partner (Kaito had no preference for any gender, apparently) every other night, Kaito was suddenly – around. Practicing magic tricks, inviting other people to meet them places after he dragged Shinichi there – suddenly Shinichi found himself with a surprisingly busy social life, on top of school and work. Eventually Shinichi did put his foot down and the parade of new people slowed down to a trickle – now just people Kaito really thought Shinichi would like. 

Supposedly. (Shinichi had his suspicions.) They were mostly proven the next time they were at Shinichi’s favorite campus cafe. “That barista has a crush on you, you know,” Kaito pointed out. 

Shinichi paused, cup of delicious coffee halfway to his mouth. “Really?” he asked mournfully. Kaito raised an eyebrow at his tone. “I *like* this coffee,” Shinichi explained plaintively. “I don’t want to have to avoid it just because a barista has a crush on me.” 

Kaito blinked. “Explain to me that line of thought?”

Shinichi groaned. “I’m not looking for a relationship right now, and no matter how nicely I explain that, she’s not going to take it well.” He sighed and muttered, “No one else has.”

Kaito was about to ask, but suddenly the crushing barista appeared. “K-Kudo-kun?” she whispered.

Shinichi clearly steeled himself before turning to face her. “Yes?”

And whether or not it was going to go as badly as Shinichi feared, he was clearly dreading it – and Kaito didn’t want to watch him suffer. So before the girl could answer, Kaito produced a yellow rose out of his sleeve and offered it to the barista. “Hi miss, I see you’ve already met my friend here, but I don’t think I’ve had the pleasure?” 

She took the rose, stars in her eyes and blush on her cheeks. “M-my name is Sakura,” she replied bashfully before walking off dazedly.

Kaito turned back to Shinichi, about to ask if Shinichi wanted to leave now that the barista was so distracted – but instead Shinichi was just staring at him, mouth agape. “What?” Kaito asked self-consciously. 

“Nothing,” Shinichi shook his head dazedly as well, “we should go.” 

Kaito nodded, and as they left, Shinichi turned to Kaito and said determinedly, “By the way, I’m not coming back to this cafe without you ever again – you’re my buffer now, no takebacks.”

***

Kaito thought that Shinichi had to be kidding, but as it turns out, he was completely serious. (Kaito really should have known.) In fact, anywhere they went that Kaito pointed out someone who had a crush on Shinichi, Shinichi refused to return there without Kaito in tow. (Outside of the classes or work he had to attend alone, of course.)

Eventually, the retired thief got curious about *why* the detective was so adamant about avoiding these confessions. “I mean, yes, the sheer amount of them is a little scary, but what if you were to end up really liking one of them after getting to know them?”

Shinichi just frowned. “They wouldn’t like what they found out about me. No one has.” He replied curtly, clearly doing his best to shut down that line of questioning.

Kaito, however, was not one to be dissuaded easily. “What does that mean?” he asked bluntly.

Shinichi glared but didn’t answer, turning back to his studying. Kaito was going to press further when Shinichi’s phone rang. “I need to take this,” Shinichi said distractedly after glancing at the phone display. Kaito heard him say “Yes, Saito-san,” as he left the room, meaning he was going to leaving for work soon. 

Suddenly Kaito had an idea. If he could somehow swipe Shinichi’s phone before he left, either just long enough to get Hattori’s number or long enough to watch Shinichi leave for work...he could impersonate Shinichi and see if he could get some answers to his questions. After all, how was he supposed to find the perfect person to ease Shinichi’s loneliness without knowing any possible pitfalls ahead of time? 

***

Kaito scrolled through Shinichi’s contacts. The only non-detective and non-relative woman’s number in his phone was Mouri-chan’s; not even the Suzuki girl was in here. He did notice that Shinichi had collected a slew of young detective’s numbers – Hattori, that bastard Hakuba, Sera-san – but he had a pretty good feeling Shinichi was not one to mix his work and personal life when he could help it; he wouldn’t be interested in a life partner he already worked with. 

Kaito gave himself a mental shake. Before he could figure out who would be a good partner for Shinich, Kaito needed to figure out what Shinichi thought was so wrong about himself. Hattori was probably his best bet.

***

Hattori was surprised to get a call from Shinichi so soon after getting a text that his friend was off on a case. “Oi, Kudo, having that much trouble with your case already?” he teased. Silence on the other end. Hattori rolled his eyes, Kudo could be so touchy sometimes. “Alright, I was kidding, lighten up. What’s going on?”

Kudo hesitated, before asking in a much smaller voice than expected, “Is there something wrong with me, that makes it hard for me to date?”

Hattori glared. “Has Kuroba been giving you shit again?” he snapped. He took Kudo’s silence for a yes and just went off. “Look, tell that nosy bastard that it’s perfectly normal to be a virgin and not be interested in changing that – you don’t even have to bring asexuality into it, just tell him that sex positivity goes both ways; whatever choices about sex you make, to have it or not, are *your* choices to make, not anyone else’s. And no one, not those stupid dates or Kuroba, gets to make you feels bad about it!” Hattori growled, before realizing his anger was entirely misplaced. “Sorry Kudo,” he sighed, “you know all this already. I didn’t mean to jump down your throat – ” 

“No,” Kudo interrupted, “no, I understand. Thank you, Hattori-san.” Then he hung up. Hattori stared at his phone. Since when had Kudo called him “-san?” And had his voice changed there at the end? Hattori sighed. He was getting overly paranoid. He and Kudo would have a laugh about it later.

***

Kaito tapped Shinichi’s phone against his chin thoughtfully. Asexuality. He hadn’t heard the term before, but he was sure the Internet would have some answers about it and Shinichi’s behavior – so he dove right in.

***

Shinichi was incensed when he burst into their room that night. “I cannot *believe* you pretended to be me and pried into my personal life like that, you damn thief!” he cried as he slammed open the door. When Kaito didn’t respond, he growled, “Well? Care to explain yourself?” 

Kaito was still staring at his computer screen – still reading, apparently – but before Shinichi could get over there and *shake him* like he wanted to, Kaito distantly replied, “I – I just wanted to help you. I’m sorry I invaded your privacy and got Hattori to accidentally spill your secret to do it, I didn’t – ”

“Didn’t what?” Shinichi growled. 

Kaito hunched into himself, but turned to face Shinichi. “Didn’t realize what it felt like to have a words for how you feel and still be pressured to be…different. To fit in,” he whispered. 

Shinichi stared. “What?”

Kaito snorted. “As it turns out, Shinichi, you’re asexual, but I’m aromantic.” 

Shinichi just kept staring. “*You’re* aro?” 

Kaito laughed bitterly. “Guess I deserved that.”

Shinichi glanced away, embarrassed, before turning back to face Kaito. He held out his hand to shake. “Let’s start over. Hi, I’m Shinichi. I’m a demiromantic asexual – ace – and I’m not interested in dating right now, so I’d appreciate you not pressuring me about it.” 

Kaito smiled and shook Shinichi’s hand. “Fair enough. I’m Kaito, I’m an aromantic pansexual…and I’m still figuring out what that means,” he laughed, “but it’s safe to say the one-night stands will definitely stop while I do.”

Shinichi let out an overdramatic sigh of relief. “Thank goodness for that,” Shinichi replied, smirking at Kaito’s surprised laughter. That night, both of them groaned to themselves silently, “God, he’s so cute. I’m so screwed.”

***

After their re-introduction, both boys found themselves spending more and more time together. There wasn’t a need for explanations or pretensions around each other – they already knew each other’s biggest secrets, after all. And an off-duty detective and retired thief had quite a bit in common: crazy schedules full of interrupted plans, periods of productivity that often went hand-in-hand with malnutrition, food addictions that could reach worrying levels (Shinichi to caffeine, Kaito to chocolate) and, unfortunately, nightmares. 

During finals week of their first semester, right on the heels of a case that ended with the murderer’s suicide, Shinichi’s nightmares were so bad Kaito just crawled into bed with him each night. Neither of them were entirely comfortable with this (due to pining, mostly) but it was the only way for either of them to get some sleep, so they agreed it was necessary through the end of finals. (And they grew to both love and hate it – again, see pining.) 

They day after both their last finals, Kaito wasn’t thinking when he crawled into bed with Shinichi as he had on previous nights – but Shinichi, who woke up when he felt Kaito next to him, was thinking that one more night wouldn’t hurt either of them. And indeed, the next morning, despite some embarrassment on both sides, the two boys admitted to themselves that it had been a wonderful way to start their morning.

***

And then it was winter break, and Shinichi found himself still wrestling with nightmares, alone in his gigantic house (his parents had decided to holiday in Paris) and not wanting to call Kaito, certain that his friend was enjoying his holiday with his family – he didn’t want to interrupt that. 

And that’s exactly what he told a despairing Hattori when his friend came to visit Shinichi only to find him face-down in a bento box from the local convenience store. 

Hattori shifted guiltily before breaking. “According to…sources I have, Kaito’s actually just as alone – his mom’s off in America or something. He’d probably be kicking himself if he knew you had gotten this bad in just a couple days,” Hattori commented, frowning at the mess of files and empty containers cluttering Shinichi’s kitchen. “Promise me you’ll at least give him a call?”

Shinichi hesitated, pride battling with his heart, before he gave in. “I promise,” he muttered absently, already pulling out his phone and typing out a text.

***

Hattori walked out while Kudo was distracted, smirking to himself. As much of a dick as Hakuba could be, it was a brilliant plan he had hatched to prevent either Kuroba or Kudo from having to spend their break alone. What Hakuba and Kuroba were unaware of (and Hattori had admittedly only been 80% sure of until five seconds ago) was Kudo’s growing crush on Kuroba – it was pretty much confirmed with that display in the kitchen. 

Despite their rocky start, Kuroba had really become a support for Kudo, and Hattori was all for Kudo having more supportive people in his life. Especially ones who knew he was ace. Hattori knew because he recognized the signs he had seen in himself; Ran knew, but since it was also the reason they ended their relationship, she didn’t exactly count. Kuroba had surprised him – Kuroba had seemed like one of those douchey allosexuals at first, but Hattori had to admit he had become one of Kudo’s staunchest defenders. 

If Hattori hadn’t figured out Kudo’s crush, he might have been jealous and worrying about losing his position as best friend. As it was, Hattori felt it was his duty as Kudo’s best friend to help get them together. After all, it was his revealing Kudo’s secret that had inadvertently brought them closer; he might as well finish the job.

***

Kaito was surprised to see he had three missed texts from Shinichi when he emerged from his lab (aka the repurposed secret KID room). Then he actually read them and was even more surprised. The detective was essentially asking him to move into the Kudo mansion for the duration of their break?? 

Kaito immediately called him. “Are you dying? Is that why you invited me?” he blurted in response to Shinichi’s croaky greeting. 

The detective cleared his throat and sighed. “No, I’m not dying. But…” he hesitated, before forging on. “I haven’t been sleeping all that well,” he admitted. “The house is empty and Hattori insinuated that you were in a similar situation and might not mind coming over?” 

Kaito groaned. “When you put it like that, how can I not come over?” 

Shinichi laughed. “It’ll be fun!”

***

And it was. They spent the night watching old Christmas movies – the original How the Grinch Stole Christmas move, the claymation Rudolph movie (one that Shinichi grew up watching), Home Alone and A Christmas Story (which Kaito and his father had loved watching together). 

The two boys were curled up on opposite ends of the couch when Shinichi woke up in the middle of the night to the start menu of A Christmas Story and Kaito whimpering in his sleep. Shinichi immediately moved to Kaito’s end of the couch, rearranging them to that Shinichi was spooning Kaito, soothingly running fingers through the retired thief’s messy hair, until the whimpering stopped. Shinichi knew he should get up, not take advantage of the situation – but he was so comfortable, so tired…

***

Kaito woke up slowly the next morning – the last thing he remembered was he and Shinichi laughing their way through A Christmas Story, late into the night. Now it was morning, the start menu for the move was on the screen and - Shinichi was spooning him?? Not only that, Kaito noticed as his whole body felt like it caught on fire, but Shinichi had morning wood. Slowly, carefully, Kaito disengaged from Shinichi and the couch, fleeing to the kitchen to make coffee and then to the shower to take care of his new problem. 

When he came back down, zombie-Shinichi was just shuffling into the kitchen, banging off walls and furniture as he followed his nose in search of coffee. Kaito watched fondly from the doorway as Shinichi inhaled his first cup before slowing down to sipping the second. He wanted Shinichi to be at least mostly awake when he questioned him, so Kaito waited until Shinichi had finished his second cup and was contemplating whether he should have a third. “Good morning, Shin-chan!” Kaito chirped, expecting a growl or a muttered threat in response to the new nickname; he was not expecting Shinichi to yelp and trip over nothing, dropping his coffee cup in the sink and shattering it. 

Kaito rushed to help him clean it up, muttering apologies the whole time. When everything was clean, Shinichi turned to Kaito and explained, with a blindingly creepy smile, “That is my mother’s nickname for me. Never, ever use it again for my continued sanity. Okay?” Kaito quickly agreed. 

And because he was a little shit, he waited until Shinichi was taking a big gulp of his third cup of coffee before asking, “So Shinichi, why did I wake up this morning with your dick pressing into my ass?” The resulting spit-take was beautiful, and the scandalized expression on Shinichi’s face was *priceless,* well worth the revenge that was sure to come. 

“I – it – ugh, it wasn’t on purpose!” Shinichi moaned before burying his bright red face into his mug, as Kaito cackled delightedly across from him.

Eventually Kaito’s laughter petered off and he asked, “But seriously, what led to the whole spooning thing?” Shinichi fiddled with his empty mug. “I heard – or, well, you were having a nightmare,” he mumbled, “and I didn’t want to wake you so…” He shrugged. 

Kaito’s chuckle was strained. “The last time I watched those movies was…well. Before my dad died. I guess it was...not the best idea.” He cleared his throat, eyes soft. “Anyway. You heard me having a nightmare so you cuddled me back to sleep?” 

Shinichi paused, not sure whether to address Kaito’s confession but letting it go. He nodded in response to Kaito’s question, blushing slightly. 

Kaito glomped him. “You are just too cute, Chi-chan!” Kaito cooed. But Shinichi stiffened in his arms, so Kaito quickly let go. “Are you okay? Am I invading your personal space too much?” Kaito babbled worriedly.

Shinichi smiled. “No, no, you’re fine on that count. But…Chi-chan?” He wrinkled his nose.

Kaito grinned. “I like it! Plus, it’s not your mom’s nickname for you.”

Shinichi sighed. “I guess that’s true.”

Kaito beamed; victory!

***

When Aoko started hearing nothing but Chi-chan this and Chi-chan that during their winter break texts (apparently Kaito was rooming with Chi-chan for the break??), she knew Kaito was crushing hard and it was time for her to do some digging. So she texted Kaito, asking if he would be free to get lunch the next day. Kaito agreed, not knowing what he was in for.

***

Right after he sat down at the cafe he and Aoko had agreed on, he was ambushed. Aoko sat down in front of him, but so did Hakuba. “What is that doing here?” Kaito whined.

Aoko waved her hand. “Not important. What is important – who the hell is Chi-chan? And why are you living with her during break?”

Kaito raised his eyebrow. “Uh, because I also live with *him* during the school year?”

“Chi-chan is a man??” Aoko shrieked at the same Hakuba realized (and blurted out), “You have a crush on Kudo Shinichi?” 

Kaito flushed and hissed, “Yes, Chi-chan is a man, god Aoko, you know I’m pan,” before turning to Hakuba and glaring. “It’s not a crush.”

Hakuba laughed.

Kaito glared harder. “No, really! It’s not – it’s not butterflies or anything, it’s more like – ” He hesitated. “More like a combination of how I feel about you, Aoko, as well as how I feel about my mom.” 

Aoko and Hakuba stared; Kaito flailed.

“It’s not as creepy as it sounds! It’s just – friendship feelings, best-friendship feelings, but…deeper. Family-like.” Kaito shrugged. “It’s not a romantic thing. I mean, I would totally hit that,” Kaito leered for a second before going abruptly serious. “But he doesn’t want to, so that’s off the table, of course.” He shrugged again. “I don’t know how to explain it any better than that.”

Aoko looked pretty confused, but Hakuba just looked…thoughtful. “I think that we…owe you an apology, Kuroba,” he said slowly. “I hope you can forgive our indiscretion.”

Kuroba stared at him, eyes narrowed. “Okay, say I do. What happens next?”

Hakuba cleared his throat. “We leave the subject alone, of course. No more interrogations, no more ambushes.”

“That’s it? It’s that easy?” Kaito asked suspiciously.

Hakuba shrugged. “I’d say so. Don’t you agree, Aoko?” he asked, elbowing her lightly when she just stared at him.

“Sure, of course,” she agreed. “I – I didn’t mean to hurt you, Kaito, I just…I was worried.”

Kaito sighed. “I know. I know you were. Alright, I forgive you. Are we actually going to eat, or can I go back to Chi-chan’s now?”

Hakuba shrugged. “Up to you.”

Kaito hesitated for a second, but stood up. “Then I’m off. I’ll see you later?”

Aoko smiled up at him. “Of course!”

Kaito left the table, only barely hearing Hakuba and Aoko starting to have a whispered conversation. Great.

***

“I think I accidentally came out to Hakuba as aro,” he announced as he walked into Shinichi’s kitchen. 

Shinichi frowned at him. “How do you accidentally come out to someone?”

Kaito snorted. “You speak too freely in front of a detective,” he responded bitterly.

“Ah, well…” Shinichi awkwardly replied. “Hazard of knowing detectives?” 

Kaito sighed. “Yeah, yeah, I know, brought it on myself.” He fiddled with the bottom of his jacket before bursting out, “I just…I just wanted them to understand!” He sighed. “Aoko’s my best friend, and Hakuba…well, if they’re not already together they will be soon, and…” He deflated. “I just…their opinions shouldn’t be so important, but they are.”

Shinichi patted Kaito’s arm and pulled out his phone.

“Who’re you texting?” Kaito asked.

“Hakuba,” Shinichi replied absently.

Kaito bolted upright in his chair. “What??”

“Calm down,” Shinichi muttered, still typing away. “If you want him to understand properly, not do his own search that might lead to some misunderstanding, I better point him in the right direction, yeah?”

Kaito thought about it for a minute and sighed. “You’re right,” he mumbled.

“Of course I am,” Shinichi sniffed as he finished typing. Then he turned and smiled at Kaito. “So how about we have lunch in front of another couple movies? I’ll let you pick both...”

Kaito smiled, seeing right through Shinichi’s offer but cheering up anyway. “Deal!”

***

The next day, Kaito was surprised to see he had gotten a text from Hakuba, apologizing again for the ambush and the accidental invasion of Kaito’s privacy – no one deserved to be outed prematurely, Hakuba admitted, and he was happy to let Kaito inform Aoko about his romantic orientation at his leisure; she would not be hearing it from him.

Kaito was touched by the surprisingly gentlemanly offer; he didn’t know Hakuba had it in him. Or – he realized – it did make a lot of sense, if Hakuba wasn’t straight himself. Jeez, at this point the only straight person left in Kaito’s friend group would be Aoko!

Either way, Kaito texted back thanking Hakuba for his thoughtfulness and promising that he did plan to tell Aoko soon – and had been even before Hakuba’s text, but the gesture was very much appreciated.

Thanks sent, Kaito hustled off to find Shinichi. “I need to pull together some materials for Aoko, so that she gets it this time,” he announced.

Shinichi didn’t even look away from the file he was perusing, simply grabbing a stack of papers and handing them to Kaito. “Already done,” he said distractedly.

Kaito smiled fondly, affection a brilliant fire glowing in his chest. “I love you so much.”

“Love you too,” Shinichi replied absently.

Kaito started to panic as he realized what he had said – and what Shinichi had said! Whaaat had just happened? “I’m off to meet Aoko I’ll be back later bye!” he yelled behind him as he fled, texting Aoko to meet him for dinner at the cafe they had met at yesterday.

***

Aoko looked unusually serious as she read through the stack of papers, Kaito fidgeting in the seat across from her.

“So...aromatic, is that the term?” she said at last.

Kaito grimaced. “Well, close. Aromantic. There’s an ‘n’ you missed.”

She cleared her throat. “Right. Aromantic.” She paused. “And that means that you’re not romantically attracted to people.”

“Right.”

She made a confused noise. “But – all the sex. The flirting.”

Kaito sighed. “Okay, first of all, sex can be completely removed from romantic feelings. Like - friends with benefits. Or hate sex. Sex can be separated from romance.”

Aoko nodded slowly.

“Okay. And aside from that, if you don’t have a name to put to not having romantic feelings, it’s easy to feel like you have to...fit in, so you pretend, even if you don’t feel it like everyone else seems to, like society says you should.” He shrugged. “So, pretend to have crushes and stuff; learn how to flirt and do it a lot – people don’t expect much beyond flirting if you flirt with everyone – and…focus on other things.”

Aoko stared at him, tears in her eyes. “I didn’t realize you felt like that,” she whispered.

He shrugged again. “I mean, I didn’t fully realize I felt like that,” he confessed. “And even if I had, I didn’t really have the words to explain it until now, so…it happened. I have the words for it now, I can explain it, and what matters now is – ” 

Aoko leaned over the table to throw her arms around him. “I know, and I love you just the way you are, and I won’t say anything about your love life anymore,” she promised.

Kaito hugged her back, and sighed when she lets go. “Actually, it’s funny you mention that…”

Aoko laughed. “You may not have a crush on Kudo-san, Kaito, but I wasn’t wrong that there was something there, was I?” she asked triumphantly. 

Kaito groaned. “Do you have to be so smug?” he whined.

“Best friend privileges,” Aoko smirked, before sobering. “But seriously. What’s up?”

Kaito slumped onto the table. “I’m interested in someone who isn’t interested in the kind of relationship I can give them and I’m still his best friend and it sucks.”

Aoko patted his hand hesitantly. “Are you sure? Have you actually used your words?”

Kaito bolted upright. “Oh shit, I almost forgot!” he wailed, flopping back over. “I accidentally told him I loved him right before I left!”

Aoko raised an eyebrow. “Isn’t that a good thing?”

“Not when I don’t even know how to explain the way I love him *to* him – not to mention, remember how I just said he’s not interested in the kind of relationship I can give him?? I don’t want to risk losing my – one of my best friends over this. I’d rather bury these feelings and pretend they don’t exist until they disappear.”

“Healthy,” Aoko replies drily.

Kaito scowls. “Shut up. Do you have any better ideas, other than using my words?”

Aoko smirks, brandishing one of Hakuba’s fancy credit cards. “Eating your feelings, on Saguru’s dime?”

Kaito grins evilly. “You really are the best friend in the world,” he laughed, before narrowing his eyes at her. “And don’t think I won’t be asking how you got that, and when you starting calling that bastard Saguru.”

***

While Kaito was out eating his body weight in chocolate and ice cream, Shinichi was having a slight freak-out himself. 

In one of his crazier moments, he called Hattori – who spent almost ten minutes cackling gleefully into the phone about being right before calming down enough to actually listen to what Shinichi had to say. (Damn him; Shinichi would have to come up with the appropriate revenge.)

“Seriously Kudo, what’s the matter? You love him, he loves you, happily ever after, right?”

“Except,” Shinichi hisses, “for the major problem of me being ace and – ” He hesitated, knowing that he shouldn’t out Kaito no matter how frustrated he was. 

“And Kaito’s aro, so what?”

“What the – how did you know that??” Shinichi spluttered.

“Hakuba was asking questions about knowing any aromantics and then about being in a relationship as an ace person with an allosexual partner; it was pretty easy to connect the dots. For a detective, he’s pretty crap at subtlety; for an ally, he’s got a long way to go.”

“Kaito’s been wondering if he’s queer, actually,” Shinichi muttered. 

Hattori was quiet for a second. “Huh. Maybe.”

Shinichi shook his head. “Anyway, how would an ace and an aro in a relationship work?? We have completely opposite desires and – what if trying it screws up our friendship? I don’t want to lose Kaito over something like this...”

There was a pause in which Shinichi was 99% certain Hattori shrugged. “I mean, it’s just as strange that a detective and a retired thief struck up a close friendship; you guys made that work, I’m sure you can figure out this next step as long as you communicate properly and establish ground rules and boundaries. You’ve been living together and sharing a bed for weeks already; there aren’t many more steps you two could possibly take to make it official or whatever.”

“How – how could you have possibly known about the bed-sharing?” Shinichi stuttered.

He could hear Hattori’s evil grin over the phone. “I suspected, but I wasn’t sure until just now.” His tone sobered. “Seriously, it’s better for you two to get everything out in the open – talk to each other, dammit.”

Shinichi sighed. “I hate it when you’re right.”

Hattori laughed. “I call dibs on being best man at the wedding!” he called into the phone before promptly hanging up.

Shinichi stood open-mouthed, phone to his bright red cheeks, for much longer than he was willing to admit to anyone. Hattori’s punishment would be swift and severe, he decided, typing in Kazuha-chan’s number...

***

After revenge was achieved (Hattori would regret that last jab when he came home to Kazuha-chan steaming mad about Hattori even thinking about someone else’s wedding when he hadn’t even proposed to her yet, Shinchi smirked internally), the detective was at a bit of a loss. Kaito was still out – surprisingly late, for him – and Shinichi couldn’t think about cases right now. Not when he was worried about what he needed to say to Kaito, what Kaito might say in response, what the hell Kaito was doing out so late – 

He at least got the answer to his last worry when Kaito came banging into the front foyer, “Chiiiiiiiii-chan!” Kaito sang, “I’m hoooooome!” 

“Welcome home,” Shinichi replied as he squinted suspiciously at Kaito. “Are you *drunk*?” 

“Only on looooove,” Kaito cackled, before correcting himself. “Well. I think the term is usually sugar-high?” 

Shinichi rubbed his forehead. “How much?”

“We went for ice cream sundaes!” Kaito cheered. “I think I ate…” He counted on his fingers. “Five?”

“*Five* ice cream sundaes??”

“Five and a half, really, if you count the one I split with Aoko…” Kaito added thoughtfully.

Shinichi groaned. “I refuse to have this conversation while you’re high on sugar; you’re probably going to crash any second now.”

“Now that you mention it,” Kaito yawned.

Shinichi started to lead Kaito to his room, since they had been sharing all week, but hesitated. Better Kaito get some sleep, since Shinichi was pretty sure he would be up all night worrying. So he bundled Kaito into the guest bedroom. 

“Noo,” Kaito protested sleepily, “wanna be in the bed that smells like you.” 

Shinichi blushed. “Not tonight, okay?”

Kaito pouted. “Okay. Don’t wanna make you uncomfortable.” He yawned again, before curling up and passing out.

Shinichi blinked hard, a little misty-eyed. Damn Kaito for being so – himself. If this talk tomorrow went badly, Shinichi didn’t know what he was going to do. But above all, he was a seeker of truth: he had to know the truth, no matter what the consequences were. 

***

Kaito was in the middle of a fantastic dream (starring Shinichi and a bottle of chocolate sauce) when he was woken by Shinichi screaming. “Kaito! Nooooo!”

Kaito bolted out of bed and into Shinichi’s room, where he found the detective sitting up in bed, head in his hands, whimpering, “No, no, it was supposed to be me, not him…”

Kaito got into bed with him and hugged him close. “Shh, Shinichi, it’s okay, I’m right here,” Kaito soothed. 

Shinichi raised his head. “Kaito, you’re alright,” he gasped as he pulled Kaito closer, hand on his chest – feeling his heartbeat. 

“I’m fine, Shinichi, I’m okay, it’s okay,” Kaito replied softly. 

“It wasn’t, though – you weren’t,” Shinichi sniffled, “Gin killed you, shot you in front of me, and I hadn’t – I hadn’t gotten to tell you – ”

“Whatever it is, Shinichi, it’s better to tell me in the morning, yeah? When we’re both properly awake?” 

Shinichi nodded slowly. “But you’ll stay here for the rest of the night?” he pleaded. 

Kaito melted. “Of course, sweetheart,” he murmured, getting them both comfortable. “We’ll talk in the morning,” he promised.

“Okay,” Shinichi yawned, snuggling closer.

***

When Shinichi woke up, he did not want to move. He was warm and cozy, wrapped in a comfortable embrace – but wait. Hadn’t he gone to bed alone? He distinctly remembered tucking Kaito into the guest room bed and going into his own room to pace and think (…and worry) – but he didn’t specifically remember going to sleep, to be fair. Whatever the reason, he was going to enjoy this while it lasted, so he let himself drift back off. 

The second time Shinichi woke up, he was alone in his bed, but he could smell coffee and baking chocolate chip pancakes. He debated showering while uncaffeinated (dangerous) versus heading down to the face the music with Kaito (terrifying, but not life-threatening in the same way.)

Shinichi slowly got dressed and headed downstairs. He sipped two cups of coffee in awkward silence while Kaito devoured pancake after pancake (and, grudgingly, a couple of bananas that Shinichi slipped onto his plate between pancakes). 

Finally, when Shinichi was on his third cup and Kaito had a mug of tea in front of him, Kaito broke the silence. “So, how often do you have nightmares about me dying?”

Shinichi rubbed a hand across his face. “Which one did I tell you about last night?”

Kaito’s expression crumpled. “There’s more than one?”

Shinichi laughed bitterly. “Oh, there’s definitely more than one. There’s the ones about you as KID versus you as Kaito, for starters –”

“Stop,” Kaito said quietly. “I – I shouldn’t have asked.” He took a deep breath. “Last night you screamed my name and when I came running in you were saying something about how it was supposed to be you – and then you said something about a drink shooting me, I don’t remember what kind – ”

“Gin,” Shinichi whispered, face pale. “I dreamt about Gin shooting you.” He laughed shakily. “I must have been pretty stressed for my brain to pull that one out.”

Kaito frowned. “You did say that you didn’t have the chance to tell me something important – in the dream, anyway, due to Gin shooting me – but I wasn’t sure you’d remember in the morning, so I told you we’d talk – well, now.”

“Right,” Shinichi breathed, “right, there, uh – there was something I had wanted to talk to you about last night, but – ” He waved a hand listlessly.

“Yeah,” Kaito sighed, “then I came back late in the midst of a sugar crash. Not an ideal situation, to say the least.” Kaito hesitated. “Does – does what you have to say have something to do with why I woke up in the guest room instead of your room?”

Shinichi tilted his head. “Kinda…” he started, only to quickly correct himself as he saw Kaito droop in his peripheral vision. “I mean, I knew I would be up worrying…and I didn’t want to keep you up too,” he muttered.

Kaito propped his chin in his hand. “That is both really sweet and really stupid,” he commented. “I ended up waking up and getting in your bed anyway, right?”

“Right,” Shinichi mumbled. 

“So maybe, next time, just put me in your bed and do your whole brooding routine in the same room, so maybe the nightmares wouldn’t have happened in the first place, hm?”

“Fine,” Shinichi grumbled into his coffee.

“Great,” Kaito beamed. “So do you want to tell me what you wanted to tell me last night now?”

Shinichi buried his face into his mug of coffee again. “Not particularly, right now,” he muttered. He was still too raw from remembering his nightmare. It must have been written on his face, because Kaito let it go without a fight. 

In fact, Shinichi must have looked worse than he thought, because Kaito voluntarily suggested a Sherlock marathon. The early seasons, before the show writers went mad with power and destroyed everything the show could have been. (Shinichi’s words, not Kaito’s.) They had never watched it before together, since Kaito was pretty anti-Holmes in any context, but he promised to behave. 

And to his credit, he absolutely did. Then he had to open his mouth. “You know, they kind of remind me of – well, us,” Kaito commented. Shinichi choked on his popcorn, coughing wildly. Kaito thumped his back, frowning. “Did I say something?” He asked confusedly.

Shinichi gulped air. “You know – you know that a large percentage – if not the vast majority – of the fans think they’re in a romantic relationship, right?”

Kaito just raised an eyebrow. “You think random outsiders wouldn’t assume that *we* were in a romantic relationship?”

And that shut Shinichi up for an entire two episodes.

***

He hadn’t even thought of it like that. If someone had described a relationship like his and Kaito’s to him, he would have deduced that if the two were not already in a romantic relationship, they soon would be. 

…Was it possible that Kaito really was interested in a romantic relationship with him? It’s true that he was aromantic, but – as Shinichi kept reading – attraction didn’t equal action; just as many aces decided for one reason or another to have sex, couldn’t an aro – this aro – decide to have a romantic relationship?

He didn’t seem put off by people thinking they were in one…but. What if Shinchi was wrong? Hattori’s advice rang in the back of his head. “Just talk, dammit!”

Which is what Shinichi resolved to do. Right after this episode of Sherlock ended. 

Except then Kaito had fallen asleep, and Shinichi had woken him in the middle of the night…better to let him get some rest; they could talk over dinner, Shinichi decided. 

But then Kaito ran off after he woke up, saying he had dinner plans with Aoko.

“Again?” Shinichi wondered out loud after Kaito had sped off, but – no matter, he would just wait on the couch until Kaito came home.

***

Kaito was not happy to have been summoned for dinner, so soon after they had met up and right when Shinichi had seemed ready to finally open up – but Aoko had claimed this was a dire emergency and invoked best friend privileges, and Kaito couldn’t ignore that.

When he walked into the restaurant and saw that Aoko was not sitting alone, he stopped in the middle of the restaurant, wondering if he could turn around and leave before they noticed him – except Hakuba’s damn detective radar pinged at exactly the right (wrong?) time to catch him. Hakuba waved him over, which made Aoko notice, and if Kaito left now he would never hear the end of it.

So, muttering creative curses and mentally planning a whole host of revenge pranks, he sat down at the table. “I thought we agreed no more ambushes,” he grumbled.

“We did,” Hakuba allowed, “but this isn’t an ambush.”

“No?”

“No, this is an intervention.” 

“Seriously??”

“Kaito,” Aoko interrupted, “this whole bury-your-feelings approach to Shinichi is going to blow up in your face. Sooner rather than later. As your best friend, it’s my duty to save you from yourself. Hence, Saguru coming as well.” She waved a hand, inviting him to speak.

“The chance that Shinichi has no romantic interest in you is so low it’s practically zero,” Hakuba informed them. “Hattori definitely knows something – he wouldn’t actually confirm anything of course, due to not wanting to betray confidences, but he and I are both detectives; we know how to make things obvious without actually saying anything.”

Kaito sighed. “Say I’m interested in a romantic relationship with Shinichi – ”

“Oh, are we pretending that isn’t obvious?” Aoko snorted. She mimed zipping her lips when Kaito glared at her before continuing.

“Even if that’s the case, how do I even know that Shinichi will be okay with me being – well, you know,” Kaito muttered, shooting Aoko a glance.

Hakuba looked at her as well, before clearing his throat. “Yes, right. Well, there’s…certainly precedence, and I’m sure I can point you in the direction of some helpful information, but at the end of the day, Kuroba – ” Hakuba shrugged. “You’re two people potentially entering a relationship; no matter what labels either of you have, you’re going to need to talk to each other and figure out what you both want.”

Kaito slumped at the table. “You’re right,” he muttered. 

Hakuba frowned. “I’m sorry, what was that?”

“You’re. Right.” Kaito gritted out.

Hakuba and Aoko looked at each other before looking back at Kaito. “I – I didn’t actually expect you to agree so quickly,” Aoko muttered.

Kaito rolled his eyes. “Believe it or not,” he deadpanned, “it just so happened that…recent events have made it clear how…misinformed some of my priorities were.”

Hakuba raised an eyebrow. “And what did Kudo say or do that changed your mind?”

“None of your business, Haku-bastard – and no trying to deduce it, it’s private!” Kaito snapped back immediately.

Hakuba cleared his throat. “Of course, that was out of line. I’m sorry. Old habits die hard,” he offered apologetically.

Kaito, a little stunned, just nodded in acceptance.

“Alright boys,” Aoko smiled, “congrats on playing nice. Now are we going to have a nice dinner, or not?”

Kaito and Hakuba locked eyes across the table. “I can behave if he can,” sniffed Kaito. “Also, he’s paying.”

Hakuba nodded. “Seems fair.”

“Great!” Aoko waved over the waiter.

***

After a surprisingly pleasant dinner, Kaito waved off dessert – prompting serious worry from both his companions, until he reminded them a) how much he had indulged last night and more importantly b) that Shinichi is probably waiting up for him. With that, the couple understandingly sent Kaito off, and he headed back to the Kudo mansion.

When he arrived, he found Shinichi passed out on the sofa. Kaito clicked his tongue – for all Shinichi had been worrying about Kaito’s sleep, the detective hadn’t been getting much himself; no wonder Shinichi had fallen asleep.

But when he went to pick Shinichi up and move him to a proper bed, he felt Shinichi shaking and – his face was wet? Kaito shook him awake, the thought of Shinichi silently crying somehow a thousand times worse than the screaming from last night, speaking to a deeper level of pain.

Shinichi opened his eyes, saw Kaito, and flung his arms around the retired thief’s neck. “You’re still here,” he sobbed.

Kaito’s heart clenched. “Sweetheart, yes, I’m here,” he crooned, “and I promise, I’m not going anywhere.”

“No matter what I say to you tomorrow, you promise you won’t leave?” Shinichi hiccupped.

“Unless you specifically tell me to walk out that door, I’m not leaving you,” Kaito promised, carrying him up the stairs and tucking them both into bed after changing into pajamas.

No more nightmares plagued either boy that night, despite their worry about what the morning could bring – they were safe and warm; nothing could touch them while they lay in each other’s arms. 

***

In the morning, they cuddled together for a couple hours before mutually agreeing that procrastination had not been their friend the past couple days, and it was time to face the music.

They had a quiet breakfast, each lost in their own thoughts, before mutually deciding that they should have this conversation on the couch. Shinichi broke the silence. “Last night…I had a new nightmare,” he started slowly.

Kaito winced. “What gruesome way did I die this time?”

“No, that’s the thing,” Shinichi explained, “you didn’t die. You just…left. Disappeared. And you didn’t come back.” His eyes started misting up. “You choosing to walk away, leave me behind – that’s so much worse than you dying, on some level. And I know,” Shinichi continued quickly, “I know you have no intention of leaving, but you say that *now.* What if…what if what I have to say…changes that?”

Kaito smiled at him sadly. “I can’t promise that nothing will happen to me – accidents or old enemies – but I don’t know what to say to make you truly believe that I will not willingly leave you – not unless you tell me to go yourself.” He took a deep breath. “But maybe asking you out on a date would help?”

Shinichi blinked confusedly. That was *not* what he had expected Kaito to say. And then Kaito kept talking. “I mean, I know it’s going to be a bit complicated, what with you being ace and me being aro, but – ” 

“Isn’t that more than a bit complicated?” Shinichi interrupted, waving his arms around. “I’m not going to want to do anything about those *situations* you’re going to keep having!” Shinichi spat. “And you’re going to start resenting me for it eventually and – and I don’t want you *forcing* yourself to date me or – or be in a romantic relationship with me just because my subconscious has abandonment issues!” He took a deep breath. “Look. I have a Skype with Ran soon, and I should try to make progress on my cold case before it starts.”

“Okay,” Kaito replied softly. before bracing himself. “Should…should I still be here when you come back down?”

Shinichi hunched into himself standing in the doorway. “I…I don’t know,” he replied helplessly. “But if it’s not too much to ask – ”

“I’ll be back before you go to bed,” Kaito promised. “But I…should clear my head too.” 

“Yeah, of course,” Shinichi replied softly as he left. 

Kaito fell face-first into the sofa cushions. That had been a disaster, and he had no idea how to change the stubborn detective’s mind. It was time to call a professional Shinichi wrangler – Shinichi was about to call one of them, but the other… Kaito had the number to call in his phone.

***

Hattori was surprised, to say the least, when an unknown number from Ekoda flashed on his phone. Hakuba’s number was saved as “That British Bastard,” so it wasn’t him…Ah. That time Kuroba had called and pretended to be Kudo. Maybe it was him? Hattori picked up. “Hello?” he asked cautiously.

“Hey, Hatori-san,” came the surprisingly quiet reply. “Any chance you could spare a few hours to meet up? I think – I think I really messed up with Shinichi.” 

Hattori sighed. “Or, more likely, that idiot overreacted to something you had no idea would even be an issue.” Hattori checked his watch. “I can probably be in Tokyo in two hours – meet you at the train station?” Hattori suggested.

“Sounds good to me,” Kuroba replied. “Thank you so much, Hattori-san, really.”

“Don’t thank me yet,” Hattori replied seriously. “Let’s wait and see if I can help you help Kudo see sense first.”

***

Over lunch, Kaito recapped his and Shinichi’s train wreck of a conversation. “And, I mean, I’m happy to be in his life however he wants me to be, but – ” He stared at Hattori helplessly. “Am I wrong in thinking we could be more?”

“You’re definitely not wrong,” Hattori started, “but the problem is that Kudo has gotten it into his head that dating him would be something you’re doing out of obligation rather than actual feelings, and your word choice during your little speech didn’t help,” Hattori sighed. 

Kaito rubbed a hand across his face. “I know that *now,* Obi-Wan Hattori, but what do you suggest I do to *fix it*?”

“Obi-Wan Hattori, I like that,” the Osaka detective preened before growing serious again. “Like I keep telling Kudo, you two just need to talk – and if he really is Skyping Nee-chan right now, don’t worry, she’s giving him the same lecture right now – or will be, in a minute,” he continued while typing out a text. “You’re good for Kudo, we don’t need him scaring off someone who might be able to help keep him in line.”

Kaito frowned. “Shinichi’s not going to run me off, no matter what we end up deciding. I’m in this for the long haul, no matter what.”

Hattori sighed. “Yes, but it’ll be so much easier to take care of him if he’s not still pining over you and trying to pretend that everything’s okay.” Hattori patted Kaito’s hand. “Trust me, this is for both of your own goods.”

***

Shinichi was trying to pretend that everything was okay in front of Ran, but she was his childhood friend for a reason – she could see through his bullshit like no one else. “Alright, what happened?” she finally asked.

Shinichi tried to throw her off the scent. “I just – haven’t been sleeping well. Still having nightmares about that case from before the end of the semester.”

Ran’s eyes narrowed. “Nice try. You already texted me that those nightmares stopped after Kuroba came to stay with you. But you do look pretty tired, so you are still having some sort of nightmares,” Ran continued to deduce, probably noticing Shinichi’s instinctive flinch as she said Kaito’s name. She cracked her knuckles. “Did that idiot do something to hurt you?” she rumbled threateningly. 

“No!” Shinichi exclaimed hurriedly. Then he backtracked. “Well…”

“Shiniiiiiiichiiiiiii,” Ran growled.

Shinichi caved. “Look, I’ve been having nightmares about him dying or leaving and after I told him about them, he promised he’d always stay and then offered me a pity date.”

Ran propped her chin in her hands. “Did he actually use the words ‘pity date’?” 

“No, of course not, no one ever does,” Shinichi snapped, “but that doesn’t mean I can’t read between the lines!”

Ran sighed. “You know, for a genius detective, you really can be oblivious. Did you even think about the possibility that Kuroba was trying to say he was in love with you – just without saying the words?”

“He – he can’t,” Shinichi stammered.

Ran rolled her eyes. “The one gaping hole in your ego,” she muttered, before being interrupted.

“No! I mean – maybe, but this isn’t about that,” Shinichi insisted heatedly. 

Ran raised an eyebrow. “You mean he isn’t attracted to men?”

“Not romantically, at least.”

She scowled. “So he’s pressuring you to sleep with him?”

“No, no, absolutely not!” Shinichi yelped. “He’s been a total gentleman about that, always checking whether he’s invading my personal space or making me uncomfortable.”

Ran rubbed her temples. “So, to sum up: he’s a total gentleman who respects your boundaries and would never try to sleep with you *but* when he promised to always stay and offered to take you on a date, but instead of the logical conclusion that he’s trying to meet you halfway on starting a romantic relationship, since you might be an exception to his not-attracted-to-men orientation, you assumed…?” She trailed off leadingly.

Shinichi slumped, as the full impact of his assumptions registered. “That he was asking me on a pity date, so I kind of sent him away and came up here to hide?”

Ran pinched the bridge of her nose. “Did you *actually* send him away?” 

Shinichi slumped deeper. “I said that I needed space for the day but also implied, if he was still willing, that I still sleep better if we’re still in the same bed? And, uh…he agreed?”

Ran threw her hands up in the air. “Shinichi! You basically broke his heart and twisted the knife in the same sentence! And he still came back for more??”

“I know, I know, it’s not like I’m proud of it!” Shinichi groaned.

Ran sighed. “But that does mean you have the chance to fix it. Tonight.” Ran glared. “No letting nightmares get in the way and give you an excuse anymore. *Talk* to Kuroba. Or I will enlist Hattori and lock you two in a closet,” Ran threatened. 

“Okay, okay, I promise,” Shinichi replied fervently. hands up in surrender. 

“And remember what I said – ignore that insecure voice in the back of your head. Have I ever steered you wrong, other than that one blip of convincing you we should date?” 

Shinichi chuckled. “I mean, when you put it like that…”

“Shut up,” Ran laughed. “Anything else besides the Kuroba debacle that you’d like to mention?”

“I think I’m good,” Shinichi replied, “but maybe there’s something you’d like to tell me about *your* love life?”

“I – I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Ran stammered. 

“Oh, so Jodie-sensei *didn’t* see you and Hondou-san having lunch together last week?” Shinichi smirked. 

Ran blushed. 

“Aha, I knew it! Spill,” Shinichi crowed. So Ran did.

***

When Shinichi came down from his Skype with Ran, Kaito was on the couch, watching the next episode of Sherlock. “I...didn’t expect you home yet,” Shinichi said slowly, before smirking. “And I definitely didn’t expect to catch you watching more Sherlock. Admit it, Kaito – it’s a pretty good show.”

Kaito sighed in mock defeat. “Okay, Shinichi, you win – this is one incarnation of Holmes that’s pretty freaking awesome, even if the writers fucked up the ending.”

“Agreed,” Shinichi muttered, coming to sit down on the couch. “But maybe pause so that we...can talk?”

Kaito paused the episode and turned to face Shinichi. 

Shinichi took a deep breath. “To start, I want to apologize for yesterday. I made assumptions and said things that were completely out of line – and you didn’t deserve any of it. I’m so sorry.”

Kaito smiled. “Apology accepted.”

“And, if I haven’t said anything that changed your mind, I would definitely be interested in that date? If you’re still up for it?” Shinichi continues hesitantly. “But, before you answer – we have to establish ground rules going forward, so no one misunderstands and no one gets hurt. Right?”

“Right,” Kaito agreed.

“To start, I said a lot of things yesterday and didn’t really give you a chance to give your side of...everything. Maybe we could start there?”

“Okay. So, as you might have guessed by now – what Hakuba and Aoko have guessed by now – is that the feelings I have for you are more than friendly. They’re deeper than just friends, but also more like family feelings? That kind of depth?” 

He shrugged. “I mean, it’s not romantic, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want you in my life for as long as possible. And I don’t know where on earth you got the ridiculous idea that my interest in dating you was out of pity, but let me be very clear: that is the *last* reason I want to give dating a shot. I just think that the way our relationship has developed, dates are just an extension of the hanging out we’ve already been doing – we’ll just both be honest about the fact that we want to spend as much time with each other as possible. And if people ask, we can say that we’re dating – even if it’s our version of it. This way, no more eager baristas can hit on us, or worry that we’re going to end up losing each other to another person.” 

He hesitated before continuing. “I mean, for all you were worrying about ‘denying my sexual needs’ or whatever, I haven’t had sex with another person since before midterms, and I really haven’t missed it. You’re more important than sex that would just end up being meaningless and trite compared to the relationship we have and could have in the future.” He shrugged again. “How does that sound?”

Shinichi cleared his throat and nodded, eyes shiny. “It sounds pretty perfect to me,” he replied, voice rough.

***

Their boundaries were pretty easily laid out. Shinichi was okay with kissing, as was Kaito. Cuddles were lovely but getting handsy was rarely tolerated; every now and then, Shinichi would be in the mood and indulge Kaito, but very rarely. Bed sharing was still a favorite activity, and the two boys spent almost all their free time together.

(Ran and Hattori were so smug, taking complete credit for getting them together – but both Shinichi and Kaito had to admit, as much as they (read: Shinichi) hated to, it really was because of Ran and Hattori that they had gotten together.)

As it turned out, finding time to date when you were a full-time student and working for the police was incredibly difficult, so Shinichi’s worry about pushing Kaito’s boundaries with traditional dating was completely unfounded. Most of their dates during the school year were centered on quick lunch meetups or watching a TV show or a movie curled up in bed.

On one of their lunch dates soon after they returned to campus, they met at Shinichi’s favorite campus cafe. There, they were served by a vaguely familiar barista. “Kaito-kun! Do you remember me?” she trilled upon seeing him. “Yes, of course I do! I gave you a yellow rose,” Kaito replied, desperately trying to remember the girl’s name – something to do with flowers? He produced another yellow rose. “Here, another rose for a beautiful Flower-chan.”

She giggled delightedly as she took it. “So, Kaito-kun,” she started, batting her lashes. “Would you want to meet up tonight and…catch up?” she emphasized meaningfully.

At that point, Shinichi butted in. “Excuse me, that won’t be possible.”

The barista turned to glare at him. “What?”

Shinichi nodded thoughtfully. “Yeah, Kaito won’t be free tonight.”

“Oh yeah? And how do you know that?” she spat.

“Because he’s coming home with me.” And to Kaito’s shock, Shinichi – who had specifically mentioned that he was not a fan of PDA – planted a long, passionate kiss on him in the middle of the cafe. They got whistles and catcalls as Flower-chan stomped away, fuming. 

When Shinichi finally broke it off, he blushed a fiery red as he seemed to realize all the attention they were getting. “Oh no,” he whispered.

Kaito couldn’t help bursting into laughter. “You definitely didn’t think that one through, sweetheart; let’s get out of here.”

When they returned to their room, to-go cups in hand, Kaito kept smirking at Shinichi. “Alright,” Shinichi sighed, “let it out.”

Kaito wriggled delightedly. “That was so freaking cool, Chi-chan! I love you staking your claim on me,” he fake-swooned.

“Yeah, yeah,” Shinichi grumbled good-naturedly. “I know, it was…out of character.” He scowled. “But she was out of line.”

Kaito giggled. “Actually, she was totally fine. You just got jealous, you adorable caveman you! Aren’t you so glad we’re dating and you can tell everyone else to back off?”

Shinichi groaned. “Yes, yes, you’re right, the dating thing was not the disaster that I thought it would be, you win.”

“Indeed I do,” Kaito replied with a satisfied grin. “In fact, I think we both did.”

Shinichi smiled softly. “Agreed.”


End file.
